Line Cook Resume Examples & Format
A line cook works one station in a restaurant kitchen during service, such as the grill, fryer, sauté or cold section, and cooks orders to the recipe and the ticket time. A line cook resume should prove skills such as grill and sauté station cooking, mise en place and par levels, and knife cuts and portioning with numbers from your own work. Below are three samples, entry-level to senior, with summaries, bullets and skills.
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Line Cook resume examples by experience level
All three samples are illustrative: the people, employers and every figure are made up.
Entry-level sample
Jordan Ellis
Culinary program graduate · grill and sauté basics · food handler card · evening and weekend availability
Tulsa, OK · (918) 555-0134 · jordan.ellis@example.com
Summary
- Culinary program graduate with a 10-week kitchen externship, looking for a line cook job on grill or sauté where I can learn fast and work evenings and weekends.
Experience
- Kitchen Extern, a 120-seat neighborhood restaurant, Tulsa, OK · Jan – Mar 2026 · Prepped vegetables and sauces for 90 covers before dinner service; cooked 30 to 40 orders a night on the grill under a line lead; wrote temperatures in the fridge log twice a shift.
Education
- Certificate in Culinary Arts, Tulsa Community College · 2026
- Hale High School, Tulsa, OK · High school diploma · 2025
Skills
- Knife cuts, grill, sauté, mise en place, reading order tickets, labeling and rotating stock, kitchen cleaning schedule, food handler card
Availability
- Evenings, weekends and holidays
Mid-level sample
Carla Mendez
Line Cook · 4 years · casual-dining restaurant · grill and sauté · 180 covers on weekend dinner
Phoenix, AZ · (602) 555-0171 · carla.mendez@example.com
Summary
- Line cook with four years in a casual-dining restaurant, running grill and sauté on dinners of up to 180 covers. Keeps ticket times under 12 minutes at peak and cut station waste by 20% with exact prep quantities.
Work experience
- Line Cook (Grill and Sauté), Desert Rail Grill, Phoenix, AZ · 2023 – present · Cook 150 to 180 covers on weekend dinner; ticket time under 12 minutes at peak; train 5 new cooks on the station; keep the temperature log and cleaning checklist.
- Prep Cook, Camelback Bistro, Phoenix, AZ · 2022 – 2023 · Prepped vegetables, sauces and marinades for a 90-seat dining room and events of up to 120 guests.
Education
- Phoenix Central High School · High school diploma · 2022
Skills
- Grill and sauté stations, sauces and marinades, order ticket timing, portioning, par levels, first-in-first-out storage, knife skills, cross-training on fry
Senior sample
Walter Nguyen
Lead Line Cook · 9 years · hotel restaurant · hot line of 6 · banquets of 300
Seattle, WA · (206) 555-0148 · walter.nguyen@example.com
Summary
- Lead line cook with nine years in restaurant and hotel kitchens, now directing a hot line of 6 for dinner service and banquets of up to 300. Cut plate-up time on banquet entrees from 9 minutes to 6 and kept the health inspection record clean for three years.
Work experience
- Lead Line Cook, Harbor Hotel Restaurant, Seattle, WA · 2020 – present · Direct 6 cooks across dinner and banquets of up to 300; own the station par sheet and the weekly order; entree plate-up from 9 to 6 minutes.
- Line Cook, then Sauté Cook, Pike Street Kitchen, Seattle, WA · 2016 – 2020 · Cooked 120 covers a night; trained 8 new cooks; contributed 10 dishes to a seasonal menu.
Education
- Certificate in Culinary Arts, Seattle Central College · 2016
Related resume examples
- Cook resume
- Chef resume
- Restaurant Manager resume
- Server resume
- Barista resume
- Hotel Manager resume
- Housekeeper resume
- Food Service Worker resume
What does a line cook do?
In the US cooks work in restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels and other places where food is prepared and served, standing for long periods in a fast-paced kitchen. A strong line cook resume names your station, the covers or tickets you handle per shift and your speed, wastage and cleanliness record. Hours often include early mornings, late evenings, weekends and holidays, so say what shifts you can work.
Line Cook duties to put on a resume
- Season and prepare foods such as entrees, sauces, soups and salads to the recipe.
- Check the freshness of ingredients and rotate stock.
- Measure and mix ingredients according to recipes.
- Grill, fry, sauté or bake menu items to order and to the ticket time.
- Plate food to the recipe card and send it out on time.
- Keep the work area, tools and equipment clean through the shift.
- Follow food safety rules, including your state's food handler requirement where one applies.
Best resume format for a line cook
- Name your station (grill, sauté, fry, cold) in the headline.
- Give covers per service, ticket time and the type of kitchen: restaurant, hotel, school or hospital.
- One page, with your shift availability near the top, because BLS says cook hours often include early mornings, late evenings, weekends and holidays.
The section order and what goes in each are on the how to write a resume guide; the resume format guide covers every format by type and country.
Summary examples by level
- Entry-level: Culinary program graduate with a 10-week externship, cooking 30 to 40 grill orders a night and keeping a clean station and temperature log.
- Mid-level: Line cook with four years in a casual-dining restaurant, cooking up to 180 covers on weekend dinner with ticket times under 12 minutes.
- Senior: Lead line cook with nine years in restaurant and hotel kitchens, directing a hot line of 6 and plating banquets of up to 300 guests.
Work experience bullet points
- Cooked 150 to 180 covers on weekend dinner on the grill and sauté stations.
- Kept ticket times under 12 minutes at peak across 4 dinner services a week.
- Cut station waste by 20% by prepping from exact par levels instead of estimates.
- Trained 5 new cooks on station set-up, plating and the cleaning schedule.
- Logged fridge and hot-hold temperatures twice a shift with zero health inspection remarks in 2 years.
- Prepped mise en place for 120 covers before every dinner service by 4:30 p.m.
- Brought banquet entree plate-up time down from 9 minutes to 6 for events of 300.
Key skills to list
Hard skills: Grill and sauté station cooking, Mise en place and par levels, Knife cuts and portioning, Sauces, marinades and stocks, Reading order tickets and ticket timing, First-in-first-out storage and labeling, Food safety and temperature logs, Fryer basics, Recipe-card plating, Kitchen equipment cleaning and care.
Soft skills: Calm under rush, Station discipline, Following a chef's call-outs, Teamwork across stations, Punctuality for early shifts.
Education and certifications
- Cooks typically do not need formal education, though employers may require or prefer a high school diploma (BLS).
- Culinary programs run from a few months to 2 years, and apprenticeships typically last about 1 year; most cooks learn on the job (BLS). List any program with the school and year.
- Many states do not require certification for cooks, but some require a food handler card (BLS). List yours only if you hold it, with the state.
Sources
Checked on 5 October 2026.
How do I describe line cook duties on a resume?
Start each line with a verb and add a number: covers cooked, tickets sent under a set time, waste cut, cooks trained, temperature logs kept. BLS lists tasks such as preparing food to recipe, grilling or frying, and keeping work areas clean, so turn those into results.
What is the difference between a line cook and a prep cook?
A prep cook prepares ingredients before service, while a line cook cooks the orders during service. In small kitchens one person often does both, so list both if you have done both. Put the station and the volume next to each title so a manager sees what you ran.
Should I include a line cook resume summary?
Yes. Write two lines with your years, kitchen type, station and one number such as covers per service. If you have no experience, use an objective that names your training and the shifts you can work instead.